Portfolio project

Guest Blog for Trust ID (Electronic identity document verification)

With the number of fake passports seized at UK borders reaching a five-year high and high-profile stories of ‘illegal workers’ hitting the press, such as the recent tale of Byron Burgers, many companies may be concerned about their own screening and on-boarding process.

In our first ‘guest blog’, Abbie Pullman, Head of Talent Management at Off to Work, the UK’s leading event staffing solutions, consultancy, recruitment and training academy, shares her ‘Top 10 Tips’ for protecting a business from the risks of illegal workers…

“At Off to Work, we don’t claim to be immigration experts. But we are diligent employers and we do understand the risks that our business could face if we employ illegal workers. The recent case of Byron Burgers and the negative PR that ensued is a prime example of what can happen when you get document checks wrong! So here’s my top ten tips to prevent illegal working:

1. Take preventative action before candidates arrive at your door: if you let potential candidates know that you check passports and identity documents thoroughly, this alone can act as a powerful deterrent for those who may try to get work using fraudulent or counterfeit documents.

2. Know what is accepted as Right to Work documentation in the UK: It is always your applicants’ responsibility to prove they have permission to work in the UK. But it could be your business facing prosecution if you employ someone when there is ‘reasonable cause to believe’ that they are working illegally. So if someone is vague about a visa/right to work document or ‘isn’t too sure where it is’, then alarm bells should be ringing. Full information on what is acceptable can be found here, but check regularly against the government’s list of acceptable documents – if the document you’re being shown is not included, it is unlikely that it will be accepted, but…